Highlander Hybrid Tire/Wheel Questions

Comments

Goodyear pitched in half on my tires, but Toyota did nothing. I'm trying to save each post on here about tires and get a class action suit started. I'm hoping if enough people complain they will make Toyota responsible for the tires, reimburse us what we HAD to pay out, and put us 4 new Michelin tires on our HH's. Please, tell others to post their tire situation on here too.

Wanted to post an update. I have been running 19" Toyo H/T tires now for several months, in the snowiest and iciest winter we've seen in many years. The new tires have performed flawlessly. Night and day difference from the original Toyo A20 tires.I have not gotten stuck or had the traction control system shut down once this winter even in 8" of snow.

Just wanted to make sure folks know that there is an option that allows you to stick with the original factory size tires.

I am desperately seeking new tires to replace my 2008 Sport A20's. Have had the Bridgestone 255/55/R19 Dueler Alenza'a recommended by Tirerack as an alternative for the same rim. Are the Toyo Open Country HT's really the best choice? Changing wheel sizes etc for more options sounds like an expensive pain in the wallet. The Toyo HT's are hard to locate from what I am finding out.

We periodically drive up to the mountains to ski; the rest of the winter we're on warm, flat pavement. I would like to get a second set of rims from a junk yard so I could permanently mount snow tires on them and just switch back and forth as needed. Problem is, I can't find any junked rims and new from Toyota are too expensive. I've read the rims are specific to HH and that you can't substitute any other for it....is that true? If so, does anyone have any ideas as to where to find used factory rims for an '06 HH Limited?

Are the Toyo Open Country HT's really the best choice? Changing wheel sizes etc for more options sounds like an expensive pain in the wallet. The Toyo HT's are hard to locate from what I am finding out.****************************************************************

In my opinion, at least for me, the Toyo HT was the best choice. Like you, I didn't want the expense of switching wheels.

I bought mine online at treadepot.com - price was pretty good and the service they gave was amazing. When I ordered mine, they were on national backorder, but the following week a shipment came in. Treadepot shipped mine to me in literally 2 days from when they received the shipment.

Has anyone tried the Hankook RH07 tires on there Highlander Hybrid? They have them in 255/55/r19. One size up but from what I read they shouldn't cause a problem. They are on sale at Big O Tires 4 out the door $722. That sounds like a great price and I wanted to take advantage of the sale.

I tried to buy the 19" Toyo HT's this past week from tirerack and they are back ordred till early march. Can't wait with all the snow we are having. Bit the bullet and ordered 18" Lexus rims to fit our Highlander Sport and purchased Michelin 245/60/r18 LXT m/s tires that cost a bunch but have great reviews. The rims cost $500 delivered out of florida and Belle Tire is suppling the new tires, swapping rims out, etc. out the door for $1050. The overall tire diameter ends up the same as the originals so I keep the same 19" spare. After much deliberation, I decided to spend the money now and get rid of that awful 19" tire and limited choices. I expect the Michelins to last long enough to offset the poor mileage performance (that I've read about) of ALL 19" tires. Also I am anticipating a better ride with the 18" tires. They are going on early this week. Will let you know how they worked out. BTW I am not a fan of Hancook tires based on experience with our work trucks.

I bought my 2006 highlander hybrid brand new and I aswell had to replace my tires at 360000 miles as well!!!! And the new tires I had put on were 750.00!!!! Well guess what ,I am about ready to go get another set at 720000 miles !!! My husband said it is from the POOR suspention design!!!!!!!!!!!! So ya, this is frustrating! I complained aswell and Toyota done nothing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was not suprised at Toyotas response.

Most of those with '08+ Highlanders would've KILLED for 36K miles on our original factory tires AND for the $750 replacement cost. We've been getting only 13-20K miles with costs of up to $1100 for replacement.

I know we're talking about tires in this post but I can't seem to get my answers elsewhere; I am going to ask you since you also own a 2006 HH. Did you know about the new disc to update the GPS for this vehicle? What do you know or think about it? I asked the dealer (in Northern Virginia) and the disc costs $199. I'd like to see if anyone out there got it and if so, was it worth the money. Thanks.

I would suggest the Toyo brand. My 2008 Highlander Hybrid came with the Toyo 255/55/R19 and at 26,000 it was time to change tires. I called Toyo directly and the stock Toyo tires on the Highlander are only rated for 40,000. As part of Toyo's outstanding program they gave me a 25% discount on new tires at my local Les Schwab. (West Coast) Out the door I paid $801. Additionally, these H/T tires are rated at 60,000 guarantee from Toyo and I get the Les Schwab guarantee. (Repairs, rotations, alignment for the life of the tire) I highly recommend Toyo. The Bridgestone have no mileage guarantee!

I would suggest the Toyo brand. My 2008 Highlander Hybrid came with the Toyo 255/55/R19 and at 26,000 it was time to change tires. I called Toyo directly and the stock Toyo tires on the Highlander are only rated for 40,000. As part of Toyo's outstanding program they gave me a 25% discount on new tires at my local Les Schwab. (West Coast) Out the door I paid $801. Additionally, these H/T tires are rated at 60,000 guarantee from Toyo and I get the Les Schwab guarantee. (Repairs, rotations, alignment for the life of the tire) I highly recommend Toyo. The Bridgestone have no mileage guarantee!

My 08 HH original tires had less than 15K and were shot with no tread left.... I just replaced them and didn't even think about getting help with the cost.... wonder if it is too late to put in a claim?

I don't think it likely you'll get any help on a wear item like tires. AWD vehicles are notorious for how they eat tires. Even if you rotate them religiously every 5-6,000 miles, a given model of tire isn't going to last as long as it will on a FWD or RWD vehicle

OE tires - those that are installed at the vehicle assembly plant - do not come with a mileage warranty. You can only get mileage warranty on tires purchased as a separate item - and even then, there are certain lines of tires that do not have mileage warranties.

Besides, the time to ask for consideration is while you are negotiating the deal. Once you've made the purchase, it's too late!

Okay-here is the answer to everyone's problems for these lowsy tires! You will need to contact Toyo Tires at 800-442-8696 and ask for Debbie or Candice (6:30 - 5:00 PST). Toyo Tires will offer you a discount on replacement set of tires based on the mileage and remaining tread left on your tires. I received a 50% discount on a new set of tires with 17000 miles on my car and 3/32 and 4/32 tread left on my tires. They will try to push the Open Country HT Tires which are very respectable tires if you drive a lot of highway mileage, but I opted for the Versado CUV's to help me with driving in the rain and snow in the Denver area and they offered me the same discount on these tires.

The A20 tires on new vehicles have been reformulated to wear longer. Do NOT expect your Toyota dealer to tell you about the Toyo discount program - the two in my area said nothing.

I too have had premature wear on my '08 HH's Toyo Open Country A20 tires. After less than 16,000, the tread, and especially the shoulders, had worn so much that traction was compromised. This is in spite of keeping the tires inflated and rotated and having the alignment adjusted twice. The Toyota dealer checked the suspension, said it was OK, but offered no real help other than giving me the number of Toyo's customer service. Toyota does not warrant the tires. Toyo does not either, apparently because they are original equipment. I called Toyo, and was pleasantly surprised that a some relief was available. They took down some info on me and the car, then directed me to call my local Toyo sellers - they gave me a list - to find someone willing to inspect my tires for wear and condition. After the inspection the tire dealer talked to the Toyo people who offered me a "courtesy adjustment". Based on the condition of the tires and the miles on them they offered me 30% off 4 tires. I asked about the spare "Is it still OK to use it?" and they said that if I replaced all 4 tires they would replace the unused spare free. Don't forget to ask about the spare, because I don't think they were going to volunteer that I could get a free one. That works out to 44% off the cost of 5 tires.In retrospect I should have tried to bargain for a better percentage.The tires, after all, had become dangerous in wet weather. The only other cost to me was spin balancing and tax. Installation and the disposal fee were waived. Not all of the independent tire sellers were willing to deal with this adjustment process, as Toyo only reimburses the seller for the $ off after they have inspected the tires themselves and agreed with the seller's assesment of the tire condition.Because of this I was also unable to talk the seller down off list price. I still came out significantly ahead vs. getting the same or similar tires online and having them installed locally. I chose the Open Country H/T. There is also a new model, the Versado CUV, which is supposed to have a very quiet smooth luxurious ride, but has a shorter tread life and no track record. On online forums people like the H/Ts except for their snow traction - not a problem where I live. The H/Ts are quiet and smooth, with 1/3 deeper tread than the A20 OEM tires, with good handling and traction. I haven't had them long enough to know much about their tread life. The only other tire I found in the 245/55/19 size is a Bridgestone Dueller HL400 (not Alenza), which is almost universally reviled by drivers. According to posts on Edmunds and other online forums, some people have sucessfully used different sized tires tires on the 19" rims, or even changed out rims. The customer service rep at Toyo told me that Toyota had them make the A20s to their specs just for the Highlander. The rubber used is very soft, like that on high performance tires, so it feels really good when you take a test drive, but wears out way too fast. Shame on you, Toyota. Other Toyo tires we have had in the past have been better than average, with the exception of these A20s, so I decided to give the H/Ts a try - but only after much research. The phone number for Toyo customer service is 1-800-442-8696.

I'm surprised so many people are having such tire problems; I've got an '06 HiHy with over 60K and my tires are still fine. I do plan to replace them before winter though. I had a slight misalignment on my right rear that caused excessive wear on the edge, but a quick alignment and rotation took care of the problem. I expect to get new tires @ 65-70K.At least this thread is giving me ideas on what tires to get.

Putting Hankook Venus (?) 255/55R19's on tomorrow. Ticked at Toyota. I'd gladly pay extra to get tires from factory that last more than 20,000 miles. Surely they could have designed this vehicle with a tire size that there were actually a decent option for replacement. I don't like any of the all season options in the OEM size. Will research before I buy anothger car to make sure I don't end up having these issues.

Me too - but I have always preferred Michelins. Mine is an 06HH - 17 inch wheels and I still have the original Michelins, about 55Kms here in West Vancouver/Whistler but I know there are problems with replacement tires for the later models with bigger wheels.